The chase for the 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship begins on Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway for the fifth annual New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200.
The field includes champions Austin Beers, Justin Bonsignore, Ron Silk and Jon McKennedy and all four are chasing full season points this season. Silk and McKennedy were part-time last season but intend to be in the mix all season.
Other expected championship contenders include perennial contenders Matt Hirschman, Craig Lutz, Patrick Emerling and Tyler Rypkema. Rookie of the year contenders Mike Christopher Jr., Teddy Hodgdon and Paulie Hartwig III will begin that journey on Saturday night as well.
The race also includes several notable one-offs, include Cup Series Clash winner Ryan Preece, back behind the wheel of the No. 40 he co-owns with father Jeff Preece. Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Cup Series champion, is behind the wheel of the No. 38 for PSR Racing and 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman
In addition to the expected contingent of full timers, several additional familiar faces will be joining the field Saturday at New Smyrna. Headlining that list is NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, who will pilot his own No. 40 in Saturday’s opener will pilot the No. 4 Mystic Missile entry for car owner Tim Connolly.
Now more frequently found on the CARS Tour, Carson Loftin is driving the No. 73 Hartwig car for Paulie Hartwig III who isn’t old enough to compete on the tour yet. He will turn 15 on February 21 and contest the rest of the schedule.
Additional entries expected for Saturday’s opener include Eric Goodale, Luke Baldwin, Timmy Solomito, Andrew Krause, Dave Sapienza, Conner Jones, Jeremy Gerstner and Luke Fleming.
The complete entry list for Saturday’s New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 can be found below.
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
